A Somewhat Inaccurate Title for a Book That is Only 13 (Spooky) Pages Anyway

Yikes! This book is all of THIRTEEN measly pages, which makes it more like a rather wordy pamphlet. Or maybe it's the eBook version of a terribly verbose promotional flyer? And yet... the last (roughly) two-thirds isn't even about what the (overly long) title clearly indicates. Yes, that's right; only the first part is about "the Most Haunted Graveyard in the U.S." The rest seems to just be unabashed filler.

Now, that's not to say that the reportedly "paranormal" (and arguably well documented) phenomena surrounding President Lincoln's Funeral Train isn't ALSO quite interesting, and more than worthy of inclusion in a book about haunted people and places in the always noteworthy and quite historical state of Maryland, but... "Lincoln's Funeral Train" isn't actually the title of the "book," now is it?

But, hey! The subtitle, "Dead, but Not Gone in Maryland" DOES seem to fit. In fact, it's very clever, and it really does fit the subject matter extremely well. So that right there certainly is a big plus. So then... why is that the subtitle and not the main title? Beats me!

And besides, the parts of the "book" that are NOT about the allegedly "most haunted graveyard in the US." were a lot more interesting (not to mention, slightly better in terms of writing style and overall clarity) for yours truly than the stuff about Maryland's Westminster Burial Grounds.

Because, of course, it's fun to read about some of Westminster's (the one in Maryland, not England, mind you) most famous, now deceased denizens (such as Edgar Allan Poe, and the not quite as renowned ghost of Lucia Watson Taylor), but then... the book just suddenly switches to "Waterfront Views and Haunted Rooms at the Riverside Country Inn." Swell! Actually, that's all very interesting, too. But again, the Riverside Country Inn isn't actually "the most haunted cemetery in the U.S.," is it? 'Cause an inn isn't exactly a cemetery. Is it?

Now, beyond the fact that a claim such as "most haunted in America" is, honestly... let's face it, kind of... oh, I don't know... highly subjective, then why give us a glorified run-on sentence like that for a title? Granted, the writing in author Sherri Granato's ever-so-brief little study of haunted Maryland isn't even close to as bad as the average self-published ghost story themed eBook, but it does contain more than its share of awkwardly worded sentences.

Oh, don't get me wrong. Most of the book is easy enough to decipher, and I would even say that's it's a rather fun little read (which is why I'm giving it a rather generous 3 out of 5 stars), but if you're a reader who happens to be used to well edited, thoroughly researched, reasonably lengthy books about paranormal phenomena, my friendly advice with this one is; don't expect too awful much.

Because, honestly, "Haunted America, the Most Haunted Graveyard in the U.S." really isn't a bad little book. It's just not overly detailed, and reads like the work of a writer who is perhaps a bit of a novice. Other than that, I'd still give it 3 out of 5 stars. And hey, that ain't ALL bad. Is it?